I realise that this is a bit like the 'How long is a bit of string?' question but can anyone let me know their thoughts about a core collection of Irish tunes that you would find played at most sessions. I realise there is a wealth of obscure and often beautiful tunes out there but being a 'raw beginner' I could do with a bit of guidance. Oh - suggesting that I should go along to a couple of sessions to find out won't work as there aren't any local sessions in my area. Also ideas about groups of tunes that sound good together would be useful (I know another subjective one ...........)
I believe this topic has come up several times before in the life of this site. The good folks who contribute to the community here have responded to it in several of the older threads, so some well-worded searching and a bit of patience should get you all the answers you need.
You could do worse than simply clicking on 'Links' in this site and that will take you straight to 'Session Tune Sets' where some helpful soul has compiled a list of tunes commonly played at sessions and arranged them in handy groups of three.
I don't know how these tunes got on to the web but they are in fact the sets agreed over the last couple of years at the Comhaltas Wednesday sessions in Monkstown and have been published in the book, Foinn Seisiun. Thanks to someone in Russia, they are now available at http://music.celtic.ru/Session_Tune_Sets/Contents.htm and should be of assistance to anyone wanting to build up a repertoire of commonly played traditional tunes. Anyone wanting a hard copy should contact Comhaltas via enquiries@comhaltas.com.
Boys of Bluehill 3
Connaughtman's Rambles 3
Kesh Jig 3
Silver Spear 3
Bank of Ireland 2
Morrison's 2
Off to California 2
Teetotaler 2
Abbey Reel all other 1 each
Ashoken Farewell (Air) 1
Ballydesmond Polkas 1
Banish Misfortune etc.
Bill Harte's Jig
Britches Full of Stitches (Brad's favorite)
Butterfly (slip jig)
Cooley's
Cork Hornpipe
Cup of Tea
Denis Murphy's Slide
Dingle Regatta
Dunmore Lasses
Fig for a Kiss (slip jig)
Flowers of Edinburg
Harvest Home
Humors of Tulla
I Buried My Wife Danced on Her Grave
Jackie Coleman's
Jug of punch
Julia Delaney
Kerry (FABA) Polka
Kerry Polka
Kid on the Mountain
Kid on the mountain
Kilfenora Jig
Lark in the Morning (All 5 jigs)
Last Night's Fun
Lilting Banshee
Maggie in the Woods
Maid behind the bar
March of the O Neill's
Miss McLeod's
Morning Dew
Mountain Road
Mulqueen's
Munster Buttermilk (aka Behind the Haystack)
My Darling Asleep
My Love is in America
Off she Goes
Old John's
Out on the Ocean
Paddy on the railroad
Pigeon on the Gate
Rakes of Mallow
Rambling Pitchfork
Red Haired Boy
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Rose In the Heather
Saddle the Pony
Sally Gardens
Scatter the Mud
Ships Are Sailing
Sligo Maid('s Lament)
Star of Munster
Swallow Tail Jig
Sweets of May
Tobin's
Top of Cork Road
Tripping Upstairs
Tripping up the Stairs
Wind that Shakes the Barley
Wise maid
Dear Dr. Bowrawn,
What instrument do you play?
If it's flute, whistle or D/G Box I might be able to help you on some simple starter tunes that I know are easy for those tools. Similarly fiddle players, mandolinists, pipers, harpists etc. might be able to help you out, with a few tunes to get you started, rather than proving how clever they are by sledging you with collossal lists of meaningless titles.
If you read music, go to O'Niell's 1850 tunes, or those fakebooks. If not, the tutors that come with a cassettte/CD are not bad.
Other than that, as you'll probably discover, there's no easy road. Just keep doing your thaing until it all comes into focus. Be prepared to take years, but don't do it if you don't enjoy it.
Dom, nobody's trying to prove how clever we are (isn't it self evident? ...Dr. Drum asked for a list of the core session tunes, and I think that's what he's getting. We've had this debate before--whether a list of 250 tunes is useful or not--and I'll continue to say that it is. I wish someone had made such a list for me 20 years ago to help focus my tune-learning on 200-300 widely played tunes out of the thousands and thousands in the repertoire.
Far from being collosal lists of meaningless titles, such lists are a helpful index of great and popular tunes, a guide to which tunes Dr. Bodhran might want to start with as he sifts through the 1,200 or more tunes in thesession.org's archives, for instance.
When someone asks, "which tunes should I learn first?" I always answer, "All of them," because that's how you get to join in more often than not at sessions wherever you go. But the journey goes one tune at a time, and as you've pointed out, takes years, so I think it helps to "narrow" the choices down to several hundred tunes that are familiar from Doolin to Perth. Pick one, learn it, and then pick another. Start with any of the above lists and work your way through it. There are no shortcuts.
For those who think the first 300 tunes seem too daunting, think about how it feels to know those 300 tunes and realize you have another 1,500 to go to keep up with the full time players....
Will, I've been using that list you made for months - well before I removed my gag and started talking! But another 1,500?! I might as well give up now ',:-\
Thanks to all of you for your responses. I really appreciate the advice. I only discovered this site yesterday - what a great resource for music addicts! I play guitar but recently bought a beautiful mandolin. I literally can't leave it alone. Infact the guitar is sitting idle most of the time. I am struggling to find a mentor to help me get started - I am sure that the mandolin is similar to other instruments where a little good advice early on will help in the long run - you know, pick direction and all that.
Sorry for showing my ignorance about the 'Polka'. I did saw that I was a raw beginner though. Anyway back to the mandolin now - and any futher advice will be wecomed. Cheers ............Bob
Will - fair enough, perhaps I was being rather negative. I was only trying to take a beginners viewpoint.
But I would still maintain for a complete beginner, you'd want to give him/her enough material to digest confidently, and not freak them out by maybe having them think "I've got too much homework - I can't cope".
Maybe a shortlist of "must learn" tunes, followed by the rest on the list would be a usefull strategy. Just a suggestion.
Also I don't think it's necessary to keep up with full time players to enjoy playing the music.
Anyway, Dr.B., now we know you're a mandolin player/guitarist, maybe other m/g players can help you out.
Well I must admit as a relative newcomer I find this list usefull. Books like O'neill's are great for reference but for starterouters just too overwhelming, especially when they are tunes you are not familiar with and you're playing skills are not that great. I got O'neill's when I first strated and remember thinking that quite a few of the tunes weren't up to much, going back to them now I find that it was me that wasn't up to much.
By the way Drbodhran I'm a mando man too. I play a Jimmy Moon mostly and yes they are addictive.
Domhniaill and Dave - thanks for those thoughts. I particularly like Dom's idea of a 'must learn' list. My repetoire at the moment ( remember this is one month into playing the mandolin) is:
Fainne Geal an Lae (tune of Raglan Road)
Rattlin Bog - Polka
My Darling Asleep - Jig
Bill Hart's Favorite - Jig
Drop's of Brandy - Slip Jig
Fanny Power - Waltz
At the moment I'm struggling with a couple of Reels; The Mountain Road and The Silver Spire.
How about a couple of 'must learns' from all you 'patient' session players - and as Dom suggested particularly the mandolin players amongst you?
Just for the recort I play a Thomas Buchanan Mandolin made in Inverness, Scotland. It is beautiful. Simply built and very plain - but it has a beautiful resonance - well that is what it would be in the right hands - 'piercing' is probably a more accurate description the way that I play it. 'Well so my wife tells me anyway.
While I am at it another question - and as I type this in I realise this is as likely as the proverbial 'Needle in .....' - but just in case, do any of you know any Mandolin players/teachers in the Cambridge( UK) area. I would love some direct guidance. I am swamped with questions at the moment; timing, pick direction, modes, rhythm, keys ..............
That was a discussion on the beginner's top ten. You'll find that you're not going to be much further ahead after reading it, but that's all right.
Many of the experienced players I've talked to have told me that they feel beginners try to take too many tunes on at once. Joan Hanrahan of Ennis told me that if a student is willing to stick to 4 tunes for the first year, by the end of that year she will have taught them almost everything they need to know with those four tunes. That's pretty drastic, but I think it worth noting that your first year is pretty darn successful if you have ten to twenty tunes that you can play really really well.
Kevin Glackin told me that you can be a beginner for up to five years and that it takes up to ten to begin to approach mastery of the fiddle. So relax, don't worry too much about adding more tunes, and concentrate on playing the tunes you play really well by anyone's standards.
Sooner or later, you'll look at Will's list again and say, hey, I know most of those tunes, how did that happen! Let it come naturally instead of trying to cram it all in. If you're listening the proper amount to the music, you'll find that you know the tunes long before you play them, and once your playing catches up to your memory bank, you'll be in like Flynn.
We've some past threads on mando and bouzouki and you might want to search them out, but what the heck. If you have a question about playing the mando, then start a new thread asking your questions. As for modes, rhythm and keys, there's a ton of info out there on the threads, do a couple of searches. Take a look at http://www.slowplayers.org/SCTLS/modes.htm, Will generously gave our session a copy of his key/mode table.
Here is a list of tunes commonly played in Bristol (UK) sessions. This list was compiled by Chris Reynolds a little while ago from various session sources.
REELS
All around the world
Autumn child
Bank of Ireland
Banshee
Brenda Stubberts
Cup of tea
Congress
Crooked road
Cooley’s
Concertina
Chicago
Drowsy Maggie
Dick Gossip
Dinky’s
Dublin reel
Earls chair
Fahey’s
Farewell to Erin/Ireland
Farewell to Milltown
Father Kelly
Foxhunter’s
Flogging reel
Gravel walk
Glass of beer
Glasgow reel
Heaton Chapel
High reel
Humours of Westport
Jackie Coleman’s
Julia Delaney’s
Jenny’s chickens
Jenny goes to Linton
Jenny welcome to Charlie
Jenny picking cockles
Jenny’s wedding
Knotted cord
Jug of punch
Lafferty’s
Lennon’s #4
Man of the house
Mason’s apron
Maid behind the bar
Maids of Michelston
Men from Dublin
Merry blacksmith
Miss McLeod’s
Monaghan’s twig
Morning dew
Morning star
Mountain road
Munster reel
Musical priest
Over the moor to Maggie
Peeler’s jacket
Piper’s despair
Rackish Paddy
Red haired boy
Red crow
Return to Milltown
Rolling in the ryegrass
Saint Anne’s
Sailor’s bonnet
Sally gardens
Shetland fiddler
Ships are sailing
Silver spear
Sunrise
Whiskey before breakfast
Wind that shakes the barley
Tam Linn (Howling wind)
Tarbolton
Teetotalers
Toss the feathers #1, #2
JIGS
Atholl highlanders
Banish misfortune
Banks of Lough Gowna
Blackthorn stick
Barret Garry’s
Carraroe
Cliffs of Moher
Cook in the kitchen
Connaughtman’s rambles
Claire jig
Darling asleep
Donnybrook Fair
Druid
Dusty windowsills
Eavesdropper
Father O’Flynn
French tune
Gallowglass
Geese in the bog
Kerfunten
Kesh
Hag at the churn
Humours of Glendark
Irish washerwoman
Jimmy Ward’s
Lark in the morning
Langstrom’s pony
Lilting banshee
Linnane’s
Martin Hayes’
Mist covered mountain
Monk’s jig
Morrison’s
Monaghan
Munster Buttermilk
Jig of slurs
Old hag, you have killed me
Out on the ocean
Rakes of Kildare
Rambling pitchfork
Rose in the heather
Saddle the pony
Sean Ryan’s
Shandon bells
Swallows nest
Pipe on the hob #2
Tar road to Sligo
Tell her I am
Tom Billy’s
Tobin’s favourite
Tenpenny bit
Tripping up the stairs
Up Sligo
Walls of Liscarrol
Wedding jig
SLIP JIGS & SLIDES
Butterfly
Brosner
Dan O’Keefe’s
Fisherman’s
Give us a drink of water
Going to the well for water
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Slatery Ireland
Fox hunter’s
Kid on the mountain
Star above the garter
HORNPIPES
Boys of Blue Hill
Chief O’Neill’s
Dance of the honey bee
Frank Roche’s favourite
Harvest home
Jack’s the lad
King of the fairies
Liverpool hornpipe
Off to California
Rights of man
Sligo fancy
Stack of barley
Sunshine
Trumpet hornpipe
Wicklow hornpipe
POLKAS
Ballydesmond #1, #2
Britches full of stitches
Captain Byng
Dan Mac’s
Denis Murphy’s
Donkey riding
Eefes polka
Egan’s
Finnish polka
Ger (Jer) the rigger
Henry’s
I’ll buy boots for Maggie
Jessica’s
Kerry
Maids of Ardach
Maggie in the wood
Newmarket polka
Rakes of Mallow
Riding on a load of hay
Sean Ryan’s
Sweeney’s
Tom Sullivan’s
Tralee Gaol
Thomas Stone’s
CAROLAN
Blind Mary
Carolan’s concerto
Carolan’s draught
Carolan’s farewell
Carolan’s welcome
Eleanor Plunkett
Edward Corcoran
Give me your hand
Planxty Hewlett
Planxty Irwin
Sheebeg and Sheemore
MARCHES
Brian Boru’s
Bonapart’s
HIGHLANDS
Charlie O’Neill’s
Jimmy Lyons
Seaweed on the Yellow Cliff
MISCELLANEOUS
Tommy Bhett’s Waltz
Old Donegal Mazurka
Drb I'd say thats a good little list for a month. One reel which seems to get played everywhere I've been and that I would consider a must learn is Maid Behind the Bar. It's one that can be played blistering but stands up nicely when played fairly hornpipey speed ( and I've heard some very accomplished players who prefer it slow). It's a very good tune for mandolin as an excercise especially the second part, brings in the pinky and adjacent strings on fifth fret and once you've got it you'll find similar things like the Silver Spear(probably easier) which will fit nicely. So far I've managed withouy a teacher but self teaching can mean spending time perfecting totally wrong techniques which then have to be unlearnt and relearnt correctly. These are nice folk here and a visit to mandolincafe can be illuminating, our good friend Aidan Crossey has put a lot of tunes into mandolin tab on there and their are some very accomplished teachers like danb (I won't attempt to spell his name) who are more than willing to tutor on forum with whatever is giving you trouble. Don't make the big mistake I made of waiting till you think you're good enough before going out to play with others, get out their and listen to what you can't play. Thats the best way to discover what your local sessions play and what you need to learn. Good luck.
I came across these tunes several times around Sligo, Galway, and West Clare.
Reels:
Steampacket
Reel with the Birl
Drunken Landlady
Earl's Chair
Dow's Favourite
Jackie Coleman
Sally Garden's
Paddy Taylor's
Bird in the Bush
Rakish Paddy
Sporting Paddy
Mountain Road
Jigs:
Pigeon on the Gate
Killavil Jig
Walls of Liscaroll
Geese in the Bog
Maid at the Well
Monaghan Jig
Connaughtman's Rambles
Milltimber Jig
Kerfunten
Slip Jig:
The Cock and the Hen
Well, I've just learned just half of them by myself. I remember Drunken Landlady and Killavil jig were especially popular and played almost every night.
IMHO, Zina has made the most important point in this thread. Namely that it's a bad idea to take on too many tunes to start with. It's better to play one tune well than ten tunes badly. It's also important to select tunes that are within your capability. This is not all that easy for the beginner to do as in my experience some tunes that appear simple to learn can turn out to be difficult to play with suitable ornamentation etc. For example "The Bucks of Oranmore" & "The Humours of Ballyloughlin". These tunes are often referred to as "big" tunes for good reason and are best left alone until you have acquired the requisite techniques.
A couple of good reels for beginning mandolin are The Silver Spear and The Merry Blacksmith. I would advise you to get to grips with jigs (then hornpipes) before venturing onto reels as mastery of the down-up-down plectrum action you will acquire from jig playing can then be transferred to the playing of trebles in reels. I hope this makes sense.
Core set of session tunes ...........
Core set of session tunes ...........
I realise that this is a bit like the 'How long is a bit of string?' question but can anyone let me know their thoughts about a core collection of Irish tunes that you would find played at most sessions. I realise there is a wealth of obscure and often beautiful tunes out there but being a 'raw beginner' I could do with a bit of guidance. Oh - suggesting that I should go along to a couple of sessions to find out won't work as there aren't any local sessions in my area. Also ideas about groups of tunes that sound good together would be useful (I know another subjective one ...........)
Lets make a start:
The Rattlin Bog - Jig
Over to you now and thanks for any ideas!
# Posted on January 29th 2003 by drbodhran
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
I believe this topic has come up several times before in the life of this site. The good folks who contribute to the community here have responded to it in several of the older threads, so some well-worded searching and a bit of patience should get you all the answers you need.
Here's one to get you started:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/888
Hope that helps!
Rob
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by RG
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
For our old list of common session tunes, go to:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/110
Mind you, that's the "short" list of 200-300 tunes, and your local session may favor tunes not on the list.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Will CPT
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
drbodhran - just to set you straight, The Rattlin' Bog is a polka - unless there's another tune by the same name.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by granama
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
You could do worse than simply clicking on 'Links' in this site and that will take you straight to 'Session Tune Sets' where some helpful soul has compiled a list of tunes commonly played at sessions and arranged them in handy groups of three.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by sergeant fox
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
I don't know how these tunes got on to the web but they are in fact the sets agreed over the last couple of years at the Comhaltas Wednesday sessions in Monkstown and have been published in the book, Foinn Seisiun. Thanks to someone in Russia, they are now available at http://music.celtic.ru/Session_Tune_Sets/Contents.htm and should be of assistance to anyone wanting to build up a repertoire of commonly played traditional tunes. Anyone wanting a hard copy should contact Comhaltas via enquiries@comhaltas.com.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Bannerman
Most frequent tunes of those entered
Here's a frequency listing of the tunes entered in:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/110
Secondary sort by alphabetical order.
Boys of Bluehill 3
Connaughtman's Rambles 3
Kesh Jig 3
Silver Spear 3
Bank of Ireland 2
Morrison's 2
Off to California 2
Teetotaler 2
Abbey Reel all other 1 each
Ashoken Farewell (Air) 1
Ballydesmond Polkas 1
Banish Misfortune etc.
Bill Harte's Jig
Britches Full of Stitches (Brad's favorite)
Butterfly (slip jig)
Cooley's
Cork Hornpipe
Cup of Tea
Denis Murphy's Slide
Dingle Regatta
Dunmore Lasses
Fig for a Kiss (slip jig)
Flowers of Edinburg
Harvest Home
Humors of Tulla
I Buried My Wife Danced on Her Grave
Jackie Coleman's
Jug of punch
Julia Delaney
Kerry (FABA) Polka
Kerry Polka
Kid on the Mountain
Kid on the mountain
Kilfenora Jig
Lark in the Morning (All 5 jigs)
Last Night's Fun
Lilting Banshee
Maggie in the Woods
Maid behind the bar
March of the O Neill's
Miss McLeod's
Morning Dew
Mountain Road
Mulqueen's
Munster Buttermilk (aka Behind the Haystack)
My Darling Asleep
My Love is in America
Off she Goes
Old John's
Out on the Ocean
Paddy on the railroad
Pigeon on the Gate
Rakes of Mallow
Rambling Pitchfork
Red Haired Boy
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Rose In the Heather
Saddle the Pony
Sally Gardens
Scatter the Mud
Ships Are Sailing
Sligo Maid('s Lament)
Star of Munster
Swallow Tail Jig
Sweets of May
Tobin's
Top of Cork Road
Tripping Upstairs
Tripping up the Stairs
Wind that Shakes the Barley
Wise maid
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by dfost
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Dear Dr. Bowrawn,
What instrument do you play?
If it's flute, whistle or D/G Box I might be able to help you on some simple starter tunes that I know are easy for those tools. Similarly fiddle players, mandolinists, pipers, harpists etc. might be able to help you out, with a few tunes to get you started, rather than proving how clever they are by sledging you with collossal lists of meaningless titles.
If you read music, go to O'Niell's 1850 tunes, or those fakebooks. If not, the tutors that come with a cassettte/CD are not bad.
Other than that, as you'll probably discover, there's no easy road. Just keep doing your thaing until it all comes into focus. Be prepared to take years, but don't do it if you don't enjoy it.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Dom, nobody's trying to prove how clever we are (isn't it self evident?
...Dr. Drum asked for a list of the core session tunes, and I think that's what he's getting. We've had this debate before--whether a list of 250 tunes is useful or not--and I'll continue to say that it is. I wish someone had made such a list for me 20 years ago to help focus my tune-learning on 200-300 widely played tunes out of the thousands and thousands in the repertoire.
Far from being collosal lists of meaningless titles, such lists are a helpful index of great and popular tunes, a guide to which tunes Dr. Bodhran might want to start with as he sifts through the 1,200 or more tunes in thesession.org's archives, for instance.
When someone asks, "which tunes should I learn first?" I always answer, "All of them," because that's how you get to join in more often than not at sessions wherever you go. But the journey goes one tune at a time, and as you've pointed out, takes years, so I think it helps to "narrow" the choices down to several hundred tunes that are familiar from Doolin to Perth. Pick one, learn it, and then pick another. Start with any of the above lists and work your way through it. There are no shortcuts.
For those who think the first 300 tunes seem too daunting, think about how it feels to know those 300 tunes and realize you have another 1,500 to go to keep up with the full time players....
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Will CPT
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Will, I've been using that list you made for months - well before I removed my gag and started talking! But another 1,500?! I might as well give up now ',:-\
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Dow
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Thanks to all of you for your responses. I really appreciate the advice. I only discovered this site yesterday - what a great resource for music addicts! I play guitar but recently bought a beautiful mandolin. I literally can't leave it alone. Infact the guitar is sitting idle most of the time. I am struggling to find a mentor to help me get started - I am sure that the mandolin is similar to other instruments where a little good advice early on will help in the long run - you know, pick direction and all that.
Sorry for showing my ignorance about the 'Polka'. I did saw that I was a raw beginner though. Anyway back to the mandolin now - and any futher advice will be wecomed. Cheers ............Bob
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by drbodhran
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Will - fair enough, perhaps I was being rather negative. I was only trying to take a beginners viewpoint.
But I would still maintain for a complete beginner, you'd want to give him/her enough material to digest confidently, and not freak them out by maybe having them think "I've got too much homework - I can't cope".
Maybe a shortlist of "must learn" tunes, followed by the rest on the list would be a usefull strategy. Just a suggestion.
Also I don't think it's necessary to keep up with full time players to enjoy playing the music.
Anyway, Dr.B., now we know you're a mandolin player/guitarist, maybe other m/g players can help you out.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Well I must admit as a relative newcomer I find this list usefull. Books like O'neill's are great for reference but for starterouters just too overwhelming, especially when they are tunes you are not familiar with and you're playing skills are not that great. I got O'neill's when I first strated and remember thinking that quite a few of the tunes weren't up to much, going back to them now I find that it was me that wasn't up to much.
By the way Drbodhran I'm a mando man too. I play a Jimmy Moon mostly and yes they are addictive.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Davetnova
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Domhniaill and Dave - thanks for those thoughts. I particularly like Dom's idea of a 'must learn' list. My repetoire at the moment ( remember this is one month into playing the mandolin) is:
Fainne Geal an Lae (tune of Raglan Road)
Rattlin Bog - Polka
My Darling Asleep - Jig
Bill Hart's Favorite - Jig
Drop's of Brandy - Slip Jig
Fanny Power - Waltz
At the moment I'm struggling with a couple of Reels; The Mountain Road and The Silver Spire.
How about a couple of 'must learns' from all you 'patient' session players - and as Dom suggested particularly the mandolin players amongst you?
Just for the recort I play a Thomas Buchanan Mandolin made in Inverness, Scotland. It is beautiful. Simply built and very plain - but it has a beautiful resonance - well that is what it would be in the right hands - 'piercing' is probably a more accurate description the way that I play it. 'Well so my wife tells me anyway.
While I am at it another question - and as I type this in I realise this is as likely as the proverbial 'Needle in .....' - but just in case, do any of you know any Mandolin players/teachers in the Cambridge( UK) area. I would love some direct guidance. I am swamped with questions at the moment; timing, pick direction, modes, rhythm, keys ..............
Again any ideas welcomed .... Bob
# Posted on January 31st 2003 by drbodhran
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Bob, try a gander at http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/888
That was a discussion on the beginner's top ten.
You'll find that you're not going to be much further ahead after reading it, but that's all right.
Many of the experienced players I've talked to have told me that they feel beginners try to take too many tunes on at once. Joan Hanrahan of Ennis told me that if a student is willing to stick to 4 tunes for the first year, by the end of that year she will have taught them almost everything they need to know with those four tunes. That's pretty drastic, but I think it worth noting that your first year is pretty darn successful if you have ten to twenty tunes that you can play really really well.
Kevin Glackin told me that you can be a beginner for up to five years and that it takes up to ten to begin to approach mastery of the fiddle. So relax, don't worry too much about adding more tunes, and concentrate on playing the tunes you play really well by anyone's standards.
Sooner or later, you'll look at Will's list again and say, hey, I know most of those tunes, how did that happen! Let it come naturally instead of trying to cram it all in. If you're listening the proper amount to the music, you'll find that you know the tunes long before you play them, and once your playing catches up to your memory bank, you'll be in like Flynn.
We've some past threads on mando and bouzouki and you might want to search them out, but what the heck. If you have a question about playing the mando, then start a new thread asking your questions. As for modes, rhythm and keys, there's a ton of info out there on the threads, do a couple of searches. Take a look at http://www.slowplayers.org/SCTLS/modes.htm, Will generously gave our session a copy of his key/mode table.
Have fun!
Zina
# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Here is a list of tunes commonly played in Bristol (UK) sessions. This list was compiled by Chris Reynolds a little while ago from various session sources.
REELS
All around the world
Autumn child
Bank of Ireland
Banshee
Brenda Stubberts
Cup of tea
Congress
Crooked road
Cooley’s
Concertina
Chicago
Drowsy Maggie
Dick Gossip
Dinky’s
Dublin reel
Earls chair
Fahey’s
Farewell to Erin/Ireland
Farewell to Milltown
Father Kelly
Foxhunter’s
Flogging reel
Gravel walk
Glass of beer
Glasgow reel
Heaton Chapel
High reel
Humours of Westport
Jackie Coleman’s
Julia Delaney’s
Jenny’s chickens
Jenny goes to Linton
Jenny welcome to Charlie
Jenny picking cockles
Jenny’s wedding
Knotted cord
Jug of punch
Lafferty’s
Lennon’s #4
Man of the house
Mason’s apron
Maid behind the bar
Maids of Michelston
Men from Dublin
Merry blacksmith
Miss McLeod’s
Monaghan’s twig
Morning dew
Morning star
Mountain road
Munster reel
Musical priest
Over the moor to Maggie
Peeler’s jacket
Piper’s despair
Rackish Paddy
Red haired boy
Red crow
Return to Milltown
Rolling in the ryegrass
Saint Anne’s
Sailor’s bonnet
Sally gardens
Shetland fiddler
Ships are sailing
Silver spear
Sunrise
Whiskey before breakfast
Wind that shakes the barley
Tam Linn (Howling wind)
Tarbolton
Teetotalers
Toss the feathers #1, #2
JIGS
Atholl highlanders
Banish misfortune
Banks of Lough Gowna
Blackthorn stick
Barret Garry’s
Carraroe
Cliffs of Moher
Cook in the kitchen
Connaughtman’s rambles
Claire jig
Darling asleep
Donnybrook Fair
Druid
Dusty windowsills
Eavesdropper
Father O’Flynn
French tune
Gallowglass
Geese in the bog
Kerfunten
Kesh
Hag at the churn
Humours of Glendark
Irish washerwoman
Jimmy Ward’s
Lark in the morning
Langstrom’s pony
Lilting banshee
Linnane’s
Martin Hayes’
Mist covered mountain
Monk’s jig
Morrison’s
Monaghan
Munster Buttermilk
Jig of slurs
Old hag, you have killed me
Out on the ocean
Rakes of Kildare
Rambling pitchfork
Rose in the heather
Saddle the pony
Sean Ryan’s
Shandon bells
Swallows nest
Pipe on the hob #2
Tar road to Sligo
Tell her I am
Tom Billy’s
Tobin’s favourite
Tenpenny bit
Tripping up the stairs
Up Sligo
Walls of Liscarrol
Wedding jig
SLIP JIGS & SLIDES
Butterfly
Brosner
Dan O’Keefe’s
Fisherman’s
Give us a drink of water
Going to the well for water
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Slatery Ireland
Fox hunter’s
Kid on the mountain
Star above the garter
HORNPIPES
Boys of Blue Hill
Chief O’Neill’s
Dance of the honey bee
Frank Roche’s favourite
Harvest home
Jack’s the lad
King of the fairies
Liverpool hornpipe
Off to California
Rights of man
Sligo fancy
Stack of barley
Sunshine
Trumpet hornpipe
Wicklow hornpipe
POLKAS
Ballydesmond #1, #2
Britches full of stitches
Captain Byng
Dan Mac’s
Denis Murphy’s
Donkey riding
Eefes polka
Egan’s
Finnish polka
Ger (Jer) the rigger
Henry’s
I’ll buy boots for Maggie
Jessica’s
Kerry
Maids of Ardach
Maggie in the wood
Newmarket polka
Rakes of Mallow
Riding on a load of hay
Sean Ryan’s
Sweeney’s
Tom Sullivan’s
Tralee Gaol
Thomas Stone’s
CAROLAN
Blind Mary
Carolan’s concerto
Carolan’s draught
Carolan’s farewell
Carolan’s welcome
Eleanor Plunkett
Edward Corcoran
Give me your hand
Planxty Hewlett
Planxty Irwin
Sheebeg and Sheemore
MARCHES
Brian Boru’s
Bonapart’s
HIGHLANDS
Charlie O’Neill’s
Jimmy Lyons
Seaweed on the Yellow Cliff
MISCELLANEOUS
Tommy Bhett’s Waltz
Old Donegal Mazurka
# Posted on January 31st 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Drb I'd say thats a good little list for a month. One reel which seems to get played everywhere I've been and that I would consider a must learn is Maid Behind the Bar. It's one that can be played blistering but stands up nicely when played fairly hornpipey speed ( and I've heard some very accomplished players who prefer it slow). It's a very good tune for mandolin as an excercise especially the second part, brings in the pinky and adjacent strings on fifth fret and once you've got it you'll find similar things like the Silver Spear(probably easier) which will fit nicely. So far I've managed withouy a teacher but self teaching can mean spending time perfecting totally wrong techniques which then have to be unlearnt and relearnt correctly. These are nice folk here and a visit to mandolincafe can be illuminating, our good friend Aidan Crossey has put a lot of tunes into mandolin tab on there and their are some very accomplished teachers like danb (I won't attempt to spell his name) who are more than willing to tutor on forum with whatever is giving you trouble. Don't make the big mistake I made of waiting till you think you're good enough before going out to play with others, get out their and listen to what you can't play. Thats the best way to discover what your local sessions play and what you need to learn. Good luck.
# Posted on January 31st 2003 by Davetnova
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
Go to this page: http://www27.tok2.com/home/kyrie/sessin_tunes.html
I came across these tunes several times around Sligo, Galway, and West Clare.
Reels:
Steampacket
Reel with the Birl
Drunken Landlady
Earl's Chair
Dow's Favourite
Jackie Coleman
Sally Garden's
Paddy Taylor's
Bird in the Bush
Rakish Paddy
Sporting Paddy
Mountain Road
Jigs:
Pigeon on the Gate
Killavil Jig
Walls of Liscaroll
Geese in the Bog
Maid at the Well
Monaghan Jig
Connaughtman's Rambles
Milltimber Jig
Kerfunten
Slip Jig:
The Cock and the Hen
Well, I've just learned just half of them by myself. I remember Drunken Landlady and Killavil jig were especially popular and played almost every night.
# Posted on January 31st 2003 by slainte
Re: Core set of session tunes ...........
IMHO, Zina has made the most important point in this thread. Namely that it's a bad idea to take on too many tunes to start with. It's better to play one tune well than ten tunes badly. It's also important to select tunes that are within your capability. This is not all that easy for the beginner to do as in my experience some tunes that appear simple to learn can turn out to be difficult to play with suitable ornamentation etc. For example "The Bucks of Oranmore" & "The Humours of Ballyloughlin". These tunes are often referred to as "big" tunes for good reason and are best left alone until you have acquired the requisite techniques.
A couple of good reels for beginning mandolin are The Silver Spear and The Merry Blacksmith. I would advise you to get to grips with jigs (then hornpipes) before venturing onto reels as mastery of the down-up-down plectrum action you will acquire from jig playing can then be transferred to the playing of trebles in reels. I hope this makes sense.
# Posted on February 1st 2003 by milesnagopaleen